{"id":677161,"date":"2026-09-07T17:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/677161\/"},"modified":"2026-09-07T17:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-07T17:14:12","slug":"jake-kiszka-claims-guitar-was-his-ticket-to-self-expression-as-a-kid-i-had-so-much-taken-away-at-a-young-age-and-the-guitar-was-an-object-of-fighting-for-freedom-like-excalibur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/677161\/","title":{"rendered":"Jake Kiszka claims guitar was his ticket to self-expression as a kid: \u201cI had so much taken away at a young age, and the guitar was an object of fighting for freedom, like Excalibur\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

Growing up in a \u201cromanticised Americana\u201d town, the grit of hard rock didn\u2019t quite match up with Jake Kiszka<\/a>\u2019s \u2018white picket fence\u2019 childhood. However, the Greta Van Fleet<\/a> guitarist couldn\u2019t resist the rockstar lifestyle \u2013 and his guitar helped him escape suburban mundanity.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Guitar World<\/a>, Kiszka describes his first experience with a guitar as almost spiritual. \u201cWhen I picked up a guitar when I was a kid, it was this object or artifact,\u201d he explains. \u201cIt was a monolith of freedom and self-expression. Being raised in the place we were raised in [the small town of Frankenmuth, Michigan]\u2026 we\u2019re learning who we are, what we\u2019re meant to do and where we belong\u2026 There\u2019s this sense of great repression in some ways \u2013 social confines.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Greta Van Fleet are currently one of the world\u2019s most prominent (and divisive<\/a>) newer hard rock groups, there was a time when Kiszka didn\u2019t know whether his dreams would become a reality. So he clung onto his guitar, and refused to abide by the \u201csocial confines\u201d around him. \u201cTo me, the guitar was something no one could take away,\u201d he says. \u201cI had so much taken away at a young age, and this was sort of a defiance against structure and systems.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c[My guitar] was an object of fighting for freedom, like Excalibur or something\u2026 I really felt that way,\u201d he emphasises.<\/p>\n

Of course, Kiszka\u2019s upbringing wasn\u2019t dreadful. Speaking to radio station 102.1 The Edge in 2018, he describes his \u201cromanticised Americana\u201d childhood, where he was \u201cplaying in the fields, exploring the forests and [swimming in] the many streams and rivers\u201d that surrounded his hometown. However, \u201cthere wasn\u2019t much going on\u201d \u2013 which was a perfect catalyst for focusing on music.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a similar case for Queens Of The Stone Age<\/a>\u2019s Josh Homme<\/a>. Last month, Homme told the Queer the Music<\/a> podcast that growing up in a \u201cvery empty, very idyllic small town\u201d\u00a0 in Palm Desert was pretty boring\u2026 but \u201cboredom\u201d lead him to music<\/a>. \u201cThe gift of nothing is a very real thing,\u201d he explained. \u201cIn the boredom\u2026 you\u2019re allowed to practice playing guitar, piano, or drums.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Greta Van Fleet, Kiszka is keen to continue wielding his Excalibur to inspire other budding guitarists to pursue the art of rock \u2018n\u2019 roll. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to bring a sense of imagination, hope and love to a generation through rock \u2018n\u2019 roll,\u201d he tells Guitar World.<\/p>\n

Back in May, Greta Van Fleet sparked breakup rumours<\/a> after releasing a cryptic social media video. However, they\u2019ve recently confirmed that they\u2019re still together<\/a>, and their fourth album, Palace For The People, is dropping on 9 October. The group have already shared a pair of new singles: Saw You Stand and Play Your Games.<\/p>\n

Palace For The People is out 9 October. You can pre-order it now<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Growing up in a \u201cromanticised Americana\u201d town, the grit of hard rock didn\u2019t quite match up with Jake…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[264],"tags":[18890,18,117,19,17,337],"class_list":["post-677161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-artist","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-music"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/117230886352407170","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}